Question
i have a mimosa tree that started losing its leaves limb by limb at the start of this summer, it was oozing a white foam about 6 weeks ago  then stopped, it is now oozing a yellowish foam from the trunk, i live in kansas and there have been no reported cases of mimosa wilt here , what else could it be?

Answer
I am sorry to say this sounds like a disease that is fatal to mimosa. It could be one of two things--Slime flux or mimosa wilt. Slime flux or wetwood oozes froth from the trunk and is caused by a bacteria in the wood generating pressure and the foliage looks healthy and green. Mimosa wilt is caused by a fungus  Fusarium oxysporium var. perniciosum. The oozing is on the trunk or the limbs and the foliage is dying due to the root sytem being infected.

Mimosa wilt is the most devastating disease of mimosa. In many areas it has almost eliminated ornamental mimosas. The disease can be found from Maryland to Florida and west to Texas.

Symptoms include chlorotic and wilting foliage. Discoloration of the outer ring of sapwood usually occurs, and trees may die within 6 weeks after becoming infected.

The organism survives in soil and enters through the tree roots. While the specific mode of action of this fungus is not known, the effect is to disrupt the upward movement of nutrients and water.

There is no control for the disease. watering and fertilizer (10-10-10) sometimes helps if caught early enough. To keep the wilt from spreading to other mimosa trees in the area this tree should be removed and destroyed.


A few key signs will indicate that a Mimosa tree is suffering from vascular wilt. Between early and midsummer, you will notice the leaves yellowing and wilting. After midsummer, leaves will turn yellow and drop from the trees, without wilting. In the later stages, you will notice a frothy liquid seeping out of cracks and sprouts in the trunk. The infected branches will take on an unusual brown discoloration, which is referred to as "vascular streaking." This streaking pattern may effect either portions of the tree or the whole tree. Once they have been infected with mimosa wilt, most mimosa trees will die slowly over a period of several months, one branch at a time. However, other mimosa trees may die rapidly within just a few weeks.

Sorry!